“Autopilot” issues sparks recall of nearly every Tesla car on the road today

A Tesla recall over autopilot issues has been announced this week and will affect more than 2 million Tesla cars on the road in the United states as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration voices safety concerns. 

Tesla announced the recall of almost all of its vehicles on Wednesday, December 13th after a multi-year investigation into the safety of the car’s “autopilot” feature, reported NY Magazine.

The NHTSA found that Tesla cars using the autopilot feature have been involved in a large number of accidents, Starting in October of 2023, Tesla and the NHTSA engaged in multiple meetings regarding the study during which the NHTSA outlined its opinion that the autopilot was involved in too many accidents across the country. The NHTSA suggested that a recall be issued to update software in a manner that would “further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged,” read the Safety Recall Report. 

Although Tesla does not agree with the finding of the NHTSA, the company has agreed to a voluntary recall of more than 2 million of their cars. The affected vehicles include all models Y, S, 3, and X produced since October 2012 that are equipped with the autopilot feature. 

It must be noted that the “autopilot” feature is not the same as the Full Self-Driving Capability also offered by Tesla. The Full Self-Driving Capability is an additional service that allows the car to “drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention.” The “Autopilot” feature is considered only driver assistance software.